Nitish seeks special status for Bihar

Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday urged the Centre to accord a special status to Bihar to
fast track economic development in the state.

It is an aspiration of the masses in Bihar that the
state should be accorded special status to speed up economic
development, he said at a function on the occasion of the
Legislative Council`s centenary celebrations attended among
others by the President Pratibha Patil.

The Centre should consider the demand for special
status to Bihar so that the state could develop itself and
contribute to the development process in the country, the
Chief Minister said.

The state has been tagged among `BIMARU` states due to
lack of development activities here over the years and it was
in this context that the state be accorded a special status to
expedite development activities, he said.

Kumar said that the overall atmosphere in Bihar has
changed for the better and the people have adopted a positive
mindset to work together for development of the state.

The people of Bihar now prided themselves of their
identity as Biharis in their thinking and action and it was a
good omen for the state, the Chief Minister said.

The people wanted to re-discover their glorious past
during which the state used to be a leader and its history
used to converge with that of the country, he said.

The people have got over despondency that prevailed in
the state till recently, Kumar said in an apparent reference
to the 15 years of RJD-led rule.

It was for the purpose of reviving the past glories of
the state that the revival of the ancient Nalanda University
has been started with the help from the Centre and the donor
countries, the Chief Minister said, adding it was only a
matter of time that the new university will buzz with academic
activities and the bright students from the country and abroad
will make a beeline for admission there.